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Friday, April 23, 2010

Kalyn's Kitchen Turns Five Years Old (and five questions for readers to answer in the comments)

On April 24, 2005 I wrote the first post on Kalyn's Kitchen, never imagining for a moment how starting a food blog would change my life. Now I'm retired from my teaching job and spend at least a few hours every day cooking, photographing, or writing up recipes for the blog. It's been a great five years with new blogging friends, new foods to try, and new things to learn all the time. To celebrate five years of blogging, I'm going on a road trip with my friend Bonnie, but in the meantime, I'd love it if readers would answer some or all of the questions below the comments.

Thanks for your support of Kalyn's Kitchen! Here are some things I'd really love to hear about from everyone who's reading:

1) What's your name and where do you live? Anything else you feel like sharing about yourself?

2) How did you find Kalyn's Kitchen, and how long have you been reading?

3) How would you describe your food/cooking personality? What kind of recipes interest you most? (And if you're a food blogger, be sure to tell us about your blog!)

4) What are five foods/dishes you'd like to see featured regularly on Kalyn's Kitchen?

5) What are five foods/dishes you'd never want to eat or read about on a food blog?

Thanks for participating everyone! I'll be back on Tuesday with a new recipe. Meanwhile, I'm not even taking my computer on the trip (gasp), but I'll have my iPhone to read the comments as people respond.

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and this blog earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

127 comments:

Hi Kalyn, Lori from RecipeGirl here in San Diego, CA :) Congrats on the five years! I'm pretty sure that your blog was one of the first ones I discovered and started reading when I began following blogs in early 2008. I love the creativity that you bring to your recipes... you seem to enjoy experimenting with flavors and ingredients, and I like that you do research on your products to share with readers. I know it's tough to do, but I'd love to see more low carb desserts. The only things I don't like to see on blogs are things made with products I would never buy. Hope you have a grat trip!

I don't remember how I found you. I started blogging in January 2005 so probably that year. I do remember thinking "ooh good someone nearer my age". I think I was the only blogger over 50 for a little while. Actually probably the only blogger over about 35.

2) I found your blog because I was your neighbor and lucky enough to taste some of your fabulous recipes and eat your wonderful garden produce. I have also watched you in action and have seen your office/blog set up and I am always amazed by you and your work.

3) I like healthy, vegetarian, and baking recipes. It's all about balance, right? :)

This is SL we are in Texas and have been reading for a couple of months.

We love veggies and I would say our pesonalities are easy-going and the same with food- I hate days when we have to rush, rush, rush. Used to do OAMC- once a month cooking- but got out of the discipline.

We eat LOTS of salads and love food in general- from peas and bread- what we used to call a big bowl of field peas and cornbread- to fancy stuff like fusion cooking. Desserts are always interesting, even if we can't eat them all, I still like to read the recipes.

Don't think we have seen anything so far in you site we wouldn't want to read about/eat so keep up the good work!

I like to use the veg out of the yard and waste nothing so I dry or freeze the extras. Do you have any recipes with dried veggies- like tomatoes or onions in them? I normally use them in soups or pasta.

Congratulations, Kalyn! Your blog is a gem and I wish you many more years of blogging bliss :)

My name is Nupur and I live in St. Louis, MO.

I've been reading your blog for ever! Seriously, I don't remember how long it has been.

My cooking personality: I love making tasty everyday dishes for my family and friends. Nothing makes me happier than seeing someone enjoy the food I have cooked. My meals are always meatless. I blog at One Hot Stove, mostly Indian food with a sprinkle of everything else.

five foods/dishes you'd never want to eat or read about on a food blog? Well, I click away when I see meat dishes because I don't eat meat. I don't usually like seeing dishes that call for really expensive or rare ingredients (truffles, fiddlehead ferns, that kind of thing). But I don't hold any kind of posts against the blogger, if you know what I mean. I can simply click away.

Hi Kalyn and Happy 5th Anniversary. I have been reading your blog and enjoying it for over 3 1/2 years. I am from Brooklyn, New York residing in NYC and blogging at East Village Corner. I am an amateur cook and devise my own recipes.I am currently a photojournalist.I love veggie and healthy food. I love the way you incorporate healthy foods into interesting dishes!! I also love assembling foods without cooking as well. Raw is better sometimes too. Have a great weekend. I have followed you through the trials and tribulations of extending your house and agreed that you should add an extension and sun porch.

Congratulations Kalyn, I was talking with someone in a store about a receipe I found on another blogg and she gave me yours. I've been reading yours for about 6 months.

I enjoy your low carb South Beach diet recepies. I have enjoyed a lot of your recepies.

As a empty nester I look for recepies that I can make and freeze the left overs for a later meal. I found that having meals already cooked is the only way for me to eat healthy. I do a lot of my cooking on Sunday for the week.

Happy 5th anniversary Kalyn! You are one of the first bloggers I started following when I began blogging in early 2006, and I was thrilled to finally meet you at BlogHer 08. Even though I don't comment all the time I read all your posts and enjoy the dishes you create. And of course I love reading about your garden. :-)

Mindy from Philomath, OR. I don't remember how I found your blog but I've been reading it for at least a couple of years. I try to cook the low glycemic way with as much fresh food as possible. I don't have anything in particular I do or don't want you to feature, you're doing just fine. Happy birthday to your blog and I hope you have many more.

Yay, a trip! Such a nice time of year to go and so well deserved, too! :)

I am Rebecca from Chicago, IL. I am getting married in June! I found your website around the time I started dating my fiancé (2.5 years ago). I had just moved to Chicago (after years of eating only fast food) and realized that what I was eating was making me very sick. So, in light of my new relationship, we both decided to eat healthier! Neither of us knew anything about cooking, so I used the internet to find some recipes. I stumbled on your blog from Weekend Herb Blogging.

I love your website because the recipes are healthy - low in sugar, high in whole foods. Also, the step by step instructions helped me along the way as I learned how to maneuver around the kitchen and basic kitchen techniques. I have learned so much about ethnic food (I always thought I hated it!), I have learned to like both onions and mushrooms (thanks to your soups!) and I have learned that haricot verts from Costco are the best :)

More importantly, you (through your blog) have taught me how to do more than follow instructions - I have learned to actually cook. Your recipes always encourage adaptations of all kinds and this is what makes my healthy eating possible. I can improvise based on time, what's in the fridge, and what I'm craving. I can't even tell you how much that means to me! I use this knowledge every day when I cook; it's something that will stick with me forever!

I would love to see more vegetarian meals on your blog, but only for the selfish reason that we are trying to eat less meat (cost, health). I also would like to see more baking - but again selfishly because I don't know how :) I know it's almost impossible to make a healthy baked anything (although you do a great job with the stuff you post!).

I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your blog. It really has made a difference in my life and I hope you continue to blog for many more years :) Have a safe trip!

I'm Sarah Caron from Connecticut. I don't remember exactly how I found you, but I am pretty sure it was because of Weekend Herb Blogging. You were one of the first food blogs I read, and I immediately feel in love with your photos, writing and recipes. I've been reading for about four years.

I love all food -- but particularly fuss-free meals made from fresh ingredients. The food I cook is usually kid-friendly too. But I love big flavors, new ingredients and creativity in cooking as well.

Congrats on five years of blogging - I've enjoyed getting to know you via your wonderful blog over the years :) I am coming up for 6 this year - scary how time flies!! Hope you have a spectacular road trip :)

1) I'm Jeanne and I live in London, although a large part of my heart is still in my native South Africa. I spend all my free time buying, cooking, eating, photographing and writing about food :)

2) Found it on a blogroll but can't remember whose, possibly Alanna's??

3) I blog at www.cooksister.com. I am a bit of a lazy cook, ummmm, no fuss cook! ;-) When I go out, I want to have foams and stacks and granitas, but at home I want to cook simple food that's bursting with flavour - the kind of food that Nigel Slater does so well. I love to entertain and use it as a perfect excuse to try out new recipies. I love canape and salad recipes - you can never have too much inspiration!

Congratulations, Kalyn! You are a constant source of inspiration to me in so many ways. My name is Dara and my blog is Cookin' Canuck. Yours was one of the first blogs I came across (and immediately bookmarked) - it was that tzatziki recipe that brought me straight to you.

I enjoy an eclectic range of recipes, from light and healthy to indulgent. However, I do prefer savory recipes.

Here's to many more years of wonderful recipes, writing, and photos from you! Enjoy your roadtrip.

1) My name is Rachel and I live in Champaign, IL. I'm always making and sharing your recipes with people and love all the fresh ingredients you use. Thanks for turning me on to a lot of new ingredients, like agave syrup and greek yogurt.

2) I found your blog while looking for South Beach recipes. Although I don't follow the South Beach Diet anymore, I agree with many of its principles. I love your creative uses of vegetables, herbs, and flavors. I'm also a fan of Penzeys Spices.

3) My family cooks a lot of Indian, Mexican, and other ethnic dishes. We try to cook from scratch whenever possible. I would describe my cooking style as healthy, adventurous, and efficient. I'm especially interested in ways to cook healthy, family-friendly recipes while saving time and money. I also garden, and I'm slowly changing my little suburban landscape to be both decorative AND edible.

4) I love your recipes and gardening posts. Your technique for freezing herbs has saved me a lot of money. I'm always looking for new crock pot dishes, and foods that pack well into lunches. I take my lunch to work most every day, and I have a child entering kindergarten in the fall.

5) There aren't many foods I won't eat, as long as they are natural and minimally processed. I don't use artificial/chemical sweeteners for health reasons, so I appreciate your use of agave syrup and other natural/low glycemic alternatives.

Congratulations Kalyn...You've had a great five years! Hope there are many more...I'm coming up on my five year anniversary too, next month, at stephencooks.

I'm Stephen and I live in Portland, Maine.

I can't remember how I found you but I know that I was surfing the web for old-hand food bloggers around that time, to see what I could learn. Little did I know that you were nearly as new as I was!

My food personality is restless - I'm constantly trying something new, making a variation on a variation, etc. If I use a recipe at all it's usually a jumping-off point for my take on it. Other factors: I love to use traditional tools and techniques and I almost always use only fresh, unprocessed ingredients. And lately, I'm constantly aware of the health implications of my cooking, especially with respect to weight control and blood glucose levels.

In terms of the future for KK, I say please keep doing what you are doing. I love the variety and the healthy recipes. Since I'm an urban dweller I don't have a garden (except for some herbs) so I get a lot of vicarious pleasure from your gardening posts.

In terms of what I wouldn't want to read about or eat...let me put it this way: I was a little peeved when Jeffrey Steingarten named his book of essays "The Man Who Ate Everything" because I thought that would be a good description of me!

Have a great time on your trip and once again, congratulations on an amazing achievement.

Congrats on they 5 years, Kalyn. Wow, it doesn't seem that long...Katie, From Thyme for Cooking, Lot et Garonne, France.Haven't a clue how I found you - lost in the mists of time. Just glad I did. Have a lovely trip!

My name is Susan and I live in Eden, NY. I discovered your bloc about a month ago, after getting through phase 1 on South Beach.

I love healthy recipes with whole grains. I also garden, so anything involving fresh produce and herbs always appeals to me. I would like to see some low GI recipes for rhubarb, which is coming up very nicely in my garden right now :D

Congratulations Kalyn! I am Kelly from Pittsburgh, PA. You were my very first introduction to food blogs. I was searching for a recipe online, and came across your site. I spent hours reading (almost) all of your previous posts. You quickly sucked me into the world of food blogging. For a couple of years I was just a food blog lurker, but last fall I finally decided to start my own blog-No Empty Chairs. Thank you for the inspiration.

My husband comes from a diabetic family (luckily, he is not diabetic, and through food choices, we intend to keep it that way), so we try to keep sugars and simple carbohydrates to a minimum here. Although with 5 kids, I do delve into the world of sweets. But I love the treasure trove of fresh, healthy, delicious foods that I have found on your site.

I hope you continue to write about fresh garden produce and ways to make healthy eating so delicious and sustainable long term. I also love when you introduce new products/spices and ways to use them. And especially when you provide source information for them. We are lucky enough to have a Penzeys in Pittsburgh, and I have bought several spices there based on recipes that you have included. Thanks for broadening my horizons!

I tend to skip or just scroll through your restaurant reviews/trips, as I don't live in Utah.

Kalyn, I couldn't let the day pass without wishing you a Happy Anniversary. Five years is a very long time in this strange world we share and to blog consistently well for that amount of time is stranger still. I've come to love your blog and the recipes you present to us. I'm Mary from One Perfect Bite in Eugene, Oregon. I hope you have a fabulous day. Blessings...Mary

1) I'm Sacha in Indianapolis, IN, USA. I was born and raised in Philly but came to the Midwest about 10 years ago and now I'm married to a Hoosier so...well, you know.

2) I have only been reading for about a month. I found Kalyn's Kitchen when I was looking up a recipe (probably on http://foodblogsearch.com) and stumbled upon one of yours. Since The Huz and I recently started the South Beach Diet and the blog looked wonderful, I immediately added the subscription to my Google Reader.

3) More and more I want something easy and flavorful (e.g., prep-ahead stuff and slow cooker recipes). I just don't want to stand in the kitchen when I get home from work! I like the way I feel since eating the South Beach way and also how it forces me to be more creative about meals and snacks than I used to be.

4) and 5) I just don't have answers for these. Sorry! I still wanted to take the survey. :-)

Hi Kayln! Congratulations on 5 years of blogging.1) Maggie Kasten from Salt Lake City, Utah2) Your blog was mentioned in a SLTrib article some months back (maybe even a year?) about Utah bloggers. I lost 24lbs on the South Beach diet 3 years ago and am always interested in recipes that more or less fit that way of cooking/eating.3) I like eating fresh foods. My husband does most of the cooking, but I love to bake. This is a bit of a conundrum for someone trying to keep her carbs under control, but what's life without a bit of paradox?4) I really love your salad and soup recipes. Your great oregano lentil salad recipe is a favorite of mine. I'd love to see lower carb desserts that don't include nuts (husband with allergies) but the others are fun to read about since I'm crazy about nuts. 5) Can't think of anything I'd rather not read. I enjoy your site immensely.Have a great trip and here's to another 5+ years of wonderful recipes, pictures, and tidbits about your food life! Thanks for sharing them with us readers!

1) Lori from LA.2) I think I found you from SImply Recipes but I am not sure, probably about a year ago. Since I liked the recipes you were making, I continued to read.

3) My food/cooking personality/interests -- hmmm I tend to cook quick meals during work days, like VERY quick since we have a short window between work/school and fussy time. I very rarely cook meat, love veggie recipes, and tend to cook with less fussy recipes -- for example, I try to avoid recipes where I need to whip eggs whites carefully,etc. I also avoid making recipes where I need to buy a whole bunch of ingedients that I will never use again. But, that said, I love reading recipes even if I would never make them!! (Especially if there is a story that goes along with it)

4) Right now, I am trying to eat more veggies, and those are the recipes I am reading carefully to see if I can make them/family will like them. But you have some many veggie recipes, so you don't really need to do anything different.

Congratulations, Kalyn! I'm Sra from India and I often take part in WHB.

I don't remember how I found your blog but I think almost since I discovered blogging

I love reading and writing about food but not necessarily to cook all the time. I read blogs for the life in the posts and not really for the recipes, and like to think of my blog as a slice-of-life blog. The food is just the vehicle for those observations.

Substantial and filling low-carb recipes interest me the most - without rice, flour, and desserts without sugar or sugar substitutes.

Well, I guess the above, but I would take them as they come. No strong feelings about this nor about the next question - if something doesn't interest me, I can just go on to something else.

1) The names Kirsten and I live in Ohio. 2) Found out about your blog from a south beach post in lowcarbfriends. Been on South Beach for almost 4 months so reading for about 3 months.3) I have to keep our food interesting or else it gets boring. I'm only organized enough to make either an interesting side dish or an interesting entree. Never both! I LOVE the recipes where I learn about how to use a new ingredient and it is versatile enough to carry over to other dishes. Also, if I find a new ingredient that I love (like gorgonzola or sweet basil) I enjoy learning how to pair it with other flavors and creating new things.4) One dish meals with lots of veggies. Kid friendly meals. Lower calorie cookies/dessert so the portion can be larger. 5) Tofu or anything too complicated.

Hi Kalyn,I am Linda from Canton, Georgia (NW of Atlanta). Happy 5th birthday :) I found your blog totally by accident one day when I was surfing the net for South Beach friendly recipes. I was so impressed by the variety of dishes you presented, the mouth-watering photos of them and the user-friendly recipes. I have made several dishes which my family has enjoyed. You introduced me to the wonderful world of agave nectar, which has led to further rabbit trails into the world of grinding my own grains/beans, etc., and eating more healthy all around.

I like the recipes with all the different veggies and ingredients combined in ways I would never think of on my own. I am really impressed with the difference in the flavor of veggies, nuts, etc., when roasting them. Wow! The flavor just pops out.

I love the holiday recipes which give some healthy alternatives to old favorite recipes and the dessert recipes.

2) Via Google when I was searching for South Beach Diet recipes. The last time I did the SB diet (which was probably around four or five years ago) I never came across your blog, so it was a treasured find this time!

3) I love foods that can generally be put together with what's on hand, but still taste great. I love the stews and curries that you have posted so far.

4) I'd love to see more curries/Indian foods since I love those. Being a student, I also tend to favour cooking that is low maintenance with a high return (i.e. you just put it on to simmer for a couple of hours and then you hvae leftovers for a week).

5) Overly complicated recipes or things that require a huge amount of ingredients. But everything I have tried so far tastes fantastic. :)

Hello there.. Kelly from Vermont here.. I found your blog a few years ago and have been getting your emails and now follow you on facebook as well.

I found you shortly after I had gastric bypass surgery. Your recipes work really well for those of us that have had weight loss surgery.. particularly your phase 1.. but even phase two work sometimes as well. I've now lost over 130 lbs and still working at it. Your recipes help!

Also I've passed your blog info on to my friends on my online surgery support group because your recipes are work so well and are tasty!

Don't know how to describe my style of cooking. I like easy and tasty! I adore greek yogurt (Fage is the BEST, IMHO) and love to see anything made with that.. desserts that would work for phase 1/2, chicken and chili recipes are favorites.

2) I found your blog when looking for low carb recipes on google. I have been a fan for a few years now.

3) My blog is at www.pantrybites.com and I focus on eating real food that is easy and simple to cook. My diet is lower in carb and sugar which is why I love your website. I adore your crockpot recipes and your black olive salad dressing.

4) More crockpot recipes please.

5) Never want to see on a blog- pasta, chicken ( as I've had food poisoning a few times), anything sugar laden (ie. candy), anything fake or processed.

Keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing more in the future.

I'm Mrs. L from Pages, Pucks and Pantry here in San Jose, CA. I believe I found you blog 4 or so years ago when I was searching for South Beach recipes. When I'm looking for something simple and low carb (and that tastes good) I usually check what you have in your archives. I've started using several products because you've talked about them here.

As far as dishes I wouldn't want to see, I really like looking at all recipes but doubt I'd cook any that included offal of any kind!

I don't really remember how I found your blog. I think it was linked to Elise's Simply Recipes. I've been reading it since it's early days.

My food/cooking personality? Adventerous. Good homestyle cooking with a twist. The recipes I enjoy most feature fresh, seasonal foods that are fairly easy to prepare. Nothing that takes many days, many steps or many dishes to make it.

Five foods to see regularly- soups, salads, grilled meats and seafood, slowcooker recipes, anything with a Latin or Mediterrenean flair.

Five foods or dishes I'd never want to eat- fast food, overly gooey, cheesy casseroles, recipes that use canned vegetables. Everything is is fair game.

2. I can't remember how I found your wonderful blog but I've been following it for about 3 years.

3. I am a great cook who specializes in only delicious, truly nutritious food. I have been following mostly The Zone diet for about 4 years, having lost 52 lbs over the first 3 years using its concepts (although not following it to the letter). I now include South Beach and other low carb recipes in my repertoire, as well as those posted on April Smith's Calorie Restriction blog (http://www.mprize.org/blogs/) -- which you should definitely check out, although she covers a lot more than CR and recipes!

4. I would love to see even more vegetable recipes and perhaps more for lean pork. (BTW, you've got me happily eating Brussels Sprouts for the first time in my life!) We love recipes that mix up veggies & fruits.

5. Since I eat very little bread, pasta, rice & potatoes, I usually ignore those recipes completely and would be quite happy if you left them out.

Your blog is fabulous! I have directed many people to you, as soon as I find out they are "foodies" and especially if they express any interest in losing weight and becoming healthier.

If you're ever coming to Calgary, we'd love to have you visit! Blog on! JD :-)

1. Rand. Venice, California. I have a back studio at my house if any weary food bloggers feel like visiting. But you do have to cook for us! And share a bathroom.

2. My talented sister told me about it.

3. I'm a foodie that is SUPER LAZY when it comes to following recipes. I think I have a fairly intuitive palate, but I'm often guilty of thinking, "If a little is good, then a LOT is even better." It's usually not true. I'm also mostly organic. I'm most interested in interesting things to do with vegetables. I'm madly in love with this eggplant recipe: http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/08/spicy-grilled-eggplant-recipe-with-red.html

1. BobG from West Valley City, Utah2. Found it searching for cooking blogs, have been reading at least a couple of years.3. Enjoy cooking Greek, Italian, Mexican, Southwestern, and odds and ends of some other styles.4. ??5. ??

Congratulations on the anniversary! I really like your blog since I love food blogs in general but having started on SBD recently made me look for less temptation and more healthy inspiration, which I certainly found here.

1) My name is Tabea and I currently live in Brussels, Belgium

2) I found it via google and have been reading for about 2 to 3 weeks

3) I love cooking and also elaborate cooking, learning new techniques and experimenting. However, during the week I always go for fast dishes

4) I think the balance of frugal, healthy, seasonal and yet tasty can be the hardest to get right, so I am always interested in recipes like this

5) I try to eat foods that are as natural as possible, so recipes that use highly processed foods or artificial sweeteners generally are of no interest to me

2) I found you a couple of years ago when I first discovered blogs existed. I read on a regular basis!

3) I would call myself a loyal wife and wanna be grandma who loves to cook and feed everyone around her to make them happy. I also relate baking from all my childhood experiences with my Nanny and am putting together a cookbook of her recipes for the family. I write the blog The Life & Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch that really didn't start out as a food blog - it was going to be my diary. However finding all the food blogs out there I found a passion for something and became addicted.

4) You have so many out there already but I really enjoy all of your South Beach Diet recipes. I am always looking for recipes with ground beef - to find ideas of ways to cook all the ground venison we have in our freezer. I wouldn't mind more low carb desserts either!

5) Anything involving animal organs and blood. I do not get into that.

My favourite food to cook is the food of North India...all the different spices and spice blends used in their cooking make every dish a wonderful exotic experience, whether it's a vegetarian or non-vegetarian recipe.

My favourite foods I would like to see are Rice ~ Breads ~ Chicken ~ Pork ~ Lamb

I found your site when googling for southbeach recipes. Been reading for about one year. I enjoy your southbeach style. I cook healthy,wholesome meals for my family. I like to see recipes that are good for making large batches and freezing for busy nights. I love fresh herbs, so recipes using lots of those. We are cilantro lovers like you. Maybe more vegetarian/bean dishes. Low-carb/sugar desserts. Maybe healthy muffin recipes also. I love your site. I check it everytime I am thinking about what to make for the week. Your pics are great. I also read your garden blog. Keep up the great job, your so much appreciated. I know it's alot of hardwork! Safe trip!

I found your site when googling for southbeach recipes. Been reading for about one year. I enjoy your southbeach style. I cook healthy,wholesome meals for my family. I like to see recipes that are good for making large batches and freezing for busy nights. I love fresh herbs, so recipes using lots of those. We are cilantro lovers like you. Maybe more vegetarian/bean dishes. Low-carb/sugar desserts. Maybe healthy muffin recipes also. I love your site. I check it everytime I am thinking about what to make for the week. Your pics are great. I also read your garden blog. Keep up the great job, your so much appreciated. I know it's alot of hardwork! Safe trip!

2) Searching the Net for SB recipes, as the books themselves are kinda boring in their food choices and flavors. Found you in 2007, been enjoying ever since.

3) I am a closest foodie and mom that works (overworks) FT so I look for recipes that are quick to make and tasty - visually as well as to the tastebuds. i like that you experiment and tell us about the successes and the flops! i'd love to write a food blog myself, but I'd have to have time to do it - so not going to happen anytime soon. SO....living vicariously through you.

4) It would be nice to see more suggested menus or pairings. Also kid friendly foods desserts (low carb) and snack suggestions. More low cooker recipes would be nice, as well.

5) Anything with beets! (ok, that's just my own dislike showing). Tofu leaves me flat as well. The restaurant stuff is interesting once in a while, but if they aren't local, then unless there are recipes to use from the restaurant, I could skip reading those.

Congratulations on 5 years with your food blog, Kalyn. I am a 60 years plus retired woman who enjoys cooking and baking. About 6 months ago I discovered food blogs and yours is one of a few I keep up with regularly. I like a lot of your recipes because we are trying to keep our calories down but maximize flavor. Also we are eating more meatless meals and increasing our vegetables, grains and beans. I don't think there are any foods I would never want to eat or read about, however I do stay clear of expernsive ingredients that I think I may use only once or twice.

2) I'm not sure how I found your blog, but I'm sure it was probably from surfing around in the food bloggers' communities. I just recently discovered you, so I have a lot to explore in your blog!

3) I just started a blog this year to record recipes for my daughters. It's inthekitchenwithkath.com. I like to use "real food"; I do use canned chicken broth, tomatoes and beans. I love finding (or developing) desserts that are sweetened with honey or pure maple syrup. I won't use artificial sweeteners.

Congratulations Kalyn! Five years is very significant. My name is Nancy and my husband and I started the South Beach diet in February when he was diagnosed with fatty liver disease. We are anxiously awaiting our return visit to the doctor when we KNOW we will be told the condition has been corrected. He has lost 15 lbs and I have lost 12. I discovered your blog because I am a "surfer" addict. I access it almost everyday. We both love your recipes. What I would like to see more of is cassaroles and low fat sugar free baked goodies. The things I skip over are recipes which contain ingredients I would need to obtain at specialty food stores. Although I like to shop in them the nearest one is 45 miles away. Thanks for the great blog.

I'm Sandy and I live between Wisconsin and Arizona, yes, a snow bird. I found you looking for South Beach recipes. My challenge is weight watching and a hubby with new diabetes. (He loves pasta.) I've been following just this past year. Favorites are grilled meat and fresh veggies. Bored with breakfast so would like any new ideas. Thank you so much for all the great ideas and recipes.

Hello Kaylyn, my name is Kevin and I discovered your sight about 2 years ago after switching to a south beach way of eating. I have enjoyed it and read it ever since I found it.I have tried a lot of the recipes on your sight. I like the variety and cant say I want to see more of one thing or another. I also appreciate the recommendations of various products.Thank you.

My name is Jen and I'm in SLC. I found your blog through Google last summer, when I started doing South Beach and was searching for recipes. As of today, I've lost 53 lbs., but still have about a hundred to go. Your blog has really helped me get this far.

What I love are the recipes, of course, and the SB-friendly restaurant recommendations and the product recommendations. It never even occurred to me to ask Cafe Rio if they have whole wheat tortillas, so that suggestion alone was invaluable! Also, the monthly round-up is a great resource.

What I don't usually use is any recipes that are too fancy. I think they are interesting to read, and I'm glad you are exploring ideas, but if there are too many ingredients or unfamiliar ones, I generally don't even try.

Anyway, I am very grateful that you take the time to put this blog together and you have made a big difference in my life. Keep up the good work!

Hi Kalyn,Congratulations on five years! Hope you are having a great time on your trip!

My name is Kim and I live in Maryland. I found you when I started the South Beach diet by googling healthy carb recipes in 2007.

I love the many options for healthy carb recipes, I can always find something to make for dinner by doing a recipe search and know that I am eating with the SB guidelines.

Favorite recipes are those which can be made quite easily and quickly and make the family happy (including husband, 16 and 12 year old). I very much enjoy trying new recipes and new ingredients and am inspired to do so by you!

Wish for 5 regularly featured foods - just love your blog as it is!!! Can't come up with 5 foods that I wouldn't want to see either!

Happy big 5! I found your blog while searching for "low glycemic" recipes, as I have one near and dear to my heart that needs to eat that way. Soon after that I began receiving your RSS feed. I also blog and love it. It does take a lot of time, but it is my hobby. You can find me at: http://momssundaycafe.blogspot.com/

I love family dinner and have one on the last Sunday of each month. The rest of the time it is playing with food, home and yard.

I enjoy the no weights and measures of SB and have (slowly) begun to think and cook this way.

I would like to see more vegetables, I love some of the combination you come up with.

Hi I'm Jill from Vancouver Canada. I found your blog maybe 2 years ago when I was probably searching South Beach Diet. As a working mom with small kids it's a challenge to find recipes everyone in the house will eat that don't take too long. I would like to see more crock-pot recipes if possible. I can't think of any recipes I don't like to see.

Hi Kalyn, Julie from Comox, Vancouver Island Canada. Congrats on 5 great years. I found You when I was looking for South Beach recipes. Now I only use your blog. I have made lots of your recipes, look forward to your emails. Have a great trip.

Happy Birthday, Kalyn's Kitchen! I have been following your blog for over a year now. It is my favorite 'go to' place when I'm looking for a recipe. I am a Zone Diet gal and most of your recipes fit right in. Even though we live in Arizona, I'm a 'Gringo' at heart and tend to skip anything that looks too spicy and I hate cilantro with a passion- but that's just my own weird quirk. I love how responsive you are to questions and comments and the great resources you make available on your site. Guess what I'm saying is thank you! Love, love, love Kalyn's Kitchen and I'm always delighted to steer folks your way. Hope you're around for many more years!

Five years is a huge achievement. You've put so much work and creativity into your blog. It is a wealth of information, resources, and great recipes- for anyone (South Beach Diet or not- it's all tasty food!).

I may have found you through Elise at Simply Recipes...or perhaps just via comments and clicking through to various food blogs. It was back in late 2005.

I'm a toss-together, intuitive cook who just so happens to live gluten-free due to gluten intolerance/celiac disease. I like to experiment and ask, What if...? as I cook.

I love your salmon, salsa, and salad recipes the most. Always looking for inspiration in those areas.

What I don't want to read? I'm not into butchering, I admit.

Again- congrats and much love! I look forward to your next five years of blogging. xox Karina

Dear Kalyn: Congratulations on your blog anniversary! That's awesome. I don't remember how I found your blog but I'm glad that I did. I enjoy (and learn from) everything you post and have had the opportunity to try several of your dishes, which I love. I also love the way your brother has designed your banners. He always does a great job. Oh! And I love your weekend herb blogging weekly event, which you started. I'm not able to participate in it anymore but I still enjoy it and am glad you came up with that idea. I wish you many more years of fun food blogging.

Have a fun and safe trip.

Paz xoxox

P.S. Oh! Oh! And let's not forget, I loved when you got those special greetings for me from Rocco DiSpirito and other fellow food bloggers after I had my surgery. Oh, that was the best! ;-)))))

Congratulatons on 5 years. You provide a real service that is informative, enjoyable, and interesting. To answer the questions:1. I'm Toni from Yakima, Washington.

2. I followed a link from some other site, and loved what I saw.

3. I like most fresh and well prepared foods. I especially like salads, veggies, fish, and COOKIES. (I know, a no no for me.)

4.So far, I have not seen any thing on your blog that I didn't like. Your recipes rock. Your salsas are mouth watering, and your veggie recipes have looked and been delicious. Your garden tips are very helpful.

5. Well, since I enjoy trying new things, I cannot think of even 1 food I wouldn't want to see on your blog. I'm not nuts about cat fish, but all others are fine. Parsnips have a funny consistency to my mouth, but since they're so high in carbs, I would not expect to see much in the way of that.

Happy anniversary, Kalyn! I feel like we should all be sending you gifts because you're such a gift to us! Here you go:

1. Melanie, from Virginia, happy wife and homeschooling mother of five great kids.

2. I found you in January of this year, whilst despondently searching for "Phase I South Beach Diet recipes." Boy, was I thrilled to find your site! I loved reading all about you and looking over your extensive recipes. Wow, what a New Year's gift!

3. I like cooking with natural, healthy ingredients, and my kids know they are very rarely going to find things like chips and soda in our kitchen (only when we are having a party). Growing up with healthy foods, my kids rarely get sick, and my oldest has taken her healthy habits to college with her - hurray!

4. Oh my, you certainly don't need any suggestions from me - I like to read whatever you post.

5. I abhor cauliflower, LOL. Testament to how much I like your blog - I kept coming back even when you had the cauliflower header. It was hard, though! But definitely worth it.

Thank you, Kalyn, for being such a generous person and sharing your amazing culinary/photography/writing talent with all of us. Honestly, I make recipes from your blog several times a week and my family is so happy - me too!

I honestly can't remember how I found your blog, but I've been reading via RSS for a looong time.

I try to cook with real foods and as many vegetables as possible. Your recipes have been particularly helpful to me as I balance the bounty of produce from a CSA, and I love your product recommendations (esp since I am a fellow Costco lover).

Regularly featured dishes: I'd love to see more quick breakfasts (since I struggle with this).

I'm fairly omnivorous so I don't rule anything out, but I am not a fan of Splenda, so I tend to skip recipes that call for it.

Hello, My name is Linda Lee. I live in rural Pennsylvania in the Appalachian Foothills. I suffer from a form of arthritis called ,'Enteropathic Spondylitis' and microscopic Crohn's disease. I am housebound a lot and I am on a special low to no-starch diet to ward off the symptoms of these conditions. I search the internet a lot looking for recipes that meet the criteria for such a diet and happened on your site one day and am happy to say I have been able to use quite a few of your recipes. I laughed when I read your second question because I found you accidentally and I have been reading since I was 2 years old! I have been reading your blog for about one year of my 54 year span. I used to be a 'comfort food' addict and cook. I loved bread, rice, potatoes, pastas(of all kinds) thick gravies and lots of cakes and cookies. Now, I have NONE of those things. I can get away with a slice of 100% sprouted wheat bread a couple of times a week, but no more. If I eat a potato the pain in my shoulders and back and hips the next day is nearly unbearable. All my diet consists of now are low-starch vegetables, lots of meat and cheeses and salads and some fresh fruit. I eat almost no sugar at all and fight anemia constantly from the Crohn's and its devastating attacks on my intestines. I am getting better, slowly but surely. As long as I stay away from starch the pain is abated and the Crohn's is becoming less and less of a problem(thank goodness!) I am always on the hunt for salads, desserts that are free of starch, meat- main courses, and new ways to cook the old standby vegetables, like snow peas and green beans, and low-sugar drinks and smoothies to fill in the blanks. These are the 5 things I search out the most. If there is one thing I cannot bear to see another version of it would have to be macaroni and cheese. I MISS IT THE MOST!!!! Everyone has gotten so creative with it and it has morphed into so many wonderful alternatives that they always make me hungry for them. I cannot even have the gluten-free pastas as they are even more starchy than their alternatives. So, I try to avoid pasta recipes and pictures. But, thank-you for the many recipes I have garnered from you. It is people like you who give freely of their talents that make the lives of people like me easier. I send you good Karma and heart felt thanks. Enjoy your trip!

Congrats! I am Poornima from Melbourne.Just stumbled upon your blog last year.Been a regular from then onwards.Love your recipes coz they are healthy.And creative.Keep it up for us all! And good luck with your trip.

Living at 7,000 feet, we eat in most of the time. Having lost 30# between a 42-day round of HCG and a Phase I SBD, i found you doing my research on HCG, the most best-kept secret of weightloss in America. It destroys the fat cells we've been sheltering our whole lives. Lyses them. Look it up! Google HCG. Read Kevin Trudeau's book (this is not KT posting).

It changed my habits forever and I seek respite from the too well-loved Mastering the Art of French Cooking I and II. I still make Bouef Bourginon once a month. The Julia Child version. But you Kaylyn, make this new type of cooking a pleasure.

Your photos are stunning; your choices of foods vast; and your spices WELL APPRECIATED. More options to kick it up is the only change I offer.

I'm a nearly cult-wise follower of the Christoper Kimball books; those basics are beyond reproach. But you've taken healthy basics to that level.

What am I doing wrong with sweet potato fries that they are ... unpleasant. Yours look so good. The kale chips ROCK!!!!!!

veal. no veal. never any veal. free-range veal only. you must tell people the story of the importance of choosing free-range veal.

foi gra. no foi gra. never any foi gra. never. actually a paragraph or two about why no foi gra just as a public service announcement would be so informative.

I honestly cannot remember how I came upon your website, probably some procrastination googling, but I have been following for about 2 years. In fact just last week I finally put all of the recipes that I love from your website in a binder that stays on my kitchen counter at all times!

I have been wavering back and forth on South Beach for about 5 years. I find your website to be an inspiration and often the excitement of finding a new recipe keeps my eating on track. I get bored with food very easily and find myself always looking for something new and exciting in order to stay on track!Your blog never fails me :-)

I personally tend to be a non "funky" foods person. I am on a pretty limited income and often have difficulty even finding many of your ingredients. I live in a small upstate NY town which lacks diversity in many ways, escpecially at the grocery store. Therefore I tend to look for recipes that take more "run of the mill" ingredients. I've never been to a Costco but man do I wish we had one here!

I am really skeptical about Kale. I feed it to my bearded dragon everyday and because it is always in abundance in my house, have contemplated attempting some of the kale recipes. I'm still on the fence though....maybe some inspiration to do so?

I would love to see you do a recipe for veggie chips. You know like the yummy ones found at farmers market that pretty much just look like veggies cut up and dried? I have always wanted to make them!

Thank you for all the wonderful recipes and inspiration to keep eating wholesome and healthy!

2) I found Kalyn's Kitchen I think while doing a search of SBD recipes, but it may have been from the Yahoo group I belong to as well. I have searched your blog several times over the past almost 2 years, but I didn't start subscribing until about 6-9 months ago.

3) My food/cooking personality would be fix it fast, but I like to try things that are different & possibly time consuming on occasion. SBD recipes interest me most,as I am commited to this plan for the rest of my life. I have to be as my husband was diagnosed as diabetic, and the doctor recommended this plan. The great news is that since he was diagnosed in 09/08, he has not had to take any medication for it. He is completely controlled by diet.

4) You have done a phenomenal job on Kalyn's Kitchen, and I wouldn't change a thing. This also answers #5. I simply pick & choose what I want to read & what I don't.

I have truly enjoyed being able to do a searh on your site, and always finding something that meets my search needs.

Thanks for all you do, and have a fabulous vacation. Look at your iphone at little as possible, or your vacation will not be a vacation. All the posts will be there when you return home.

Hi Kalyn, My name is Arica and I am in Israel. I found your site when I was searching for a South Beach recipe on Google. I have found many wonderful recipes on your site which I use on a regular basis. I LOVE your soup recipes and would love to see more. I also like vegetable recipes(without meat or fish-just plain veggies). Thanks for your blog and congratulations on your birthday!

Kalyn, your blog is a reference. Congratulations on this big day! I discovered your blog a long time ago - more than 3 years for sure. I am based in south England - a lovely town called Guildford, but I am originally from Brasil.I love leaning new ways of preparing old favourite ingredients but I also love to learn about new ones. I am a curious cook.The only thing that i would never want to read about is food with snake meat. I have a snake phobia.

Congratulations on celebrating 5 years of blogging, Kalyn! Wishing you many many more blog-versaries.

My name is Prajakta (shortened to PJ) and I live in south bay area, CA near San Jose.

I have been following your blog for over a couple of years now. I think I landed here through Googling for a recipe and have been hooked on ever since. In many ways I can truly say that your blog has defined my way of cooking because when I found your blog, your food was exactly what I was looking for. Though I wasn't over-weight, I wasn't exactly happy with my weight either and definitely had unhappy cholesterol. Being a foodie, I knew the way to get healthier is to just start making healthy and yummy food.. which is what I found on your blog!

I'm still on vacation but am enjoying reading the comments on my iPhone. I love hearing from people who've had good success with this way of eating. (I'm happy if people let us know about their personal food blogs in these comments, but I am not going to publish comments with links to other commercial sites.)

Happy Birthday from Le Bélier! I found your site just a few months ago while on a round of South Beach Phase I, looking for some breakfast ideas... egg cups become so boring, you know. In this particular case, Google was my friend (and yours, too, I suppose). Can't say that I'm a regular reader, but I do stop by when I'm looking for something new. Food personality, hmmm... wants to eat well, has minimal time to do the prep, and bores easily of the same ol' same ol'. I'm not an avid blogger, but I do have a small, but slowly growing recipe collection at http://www.domaine-le-belier.us/. I hope that you'll take a minute to stop by.

Hi! I'm Danielle and I live in Redondo Beach CA. April 24th is my bday too! I have just been reading for a few months. My husband and I love doing South Beach diet because we really see the results from it, but I get so burned out so quickly because it's sooo time intensive and hard to keep up the energy. And I get really sick of eggs! I would love to see more Phase I egg alternative breakfasts! And I don't eat sea food, so that would be what I personally don't want to see. But that's just me so don't worry about that! :)

I'm Laura, from New Jersey (but about to move to Seattle this summer). I found you last summer when I was a member of a CSA group getting kale every.single.week. along with other greens I didn't know what to do with. Your kale & sausage soup (I've forgotten the name!) was an instant hit and I've been following ever since. The next on my list is that wheat bread you posted ages ago.

I like that your easy style of explaining the recipes makes everything seem do-able. I'm not intimidated in the kitchen, but I live by myself, and don't always want to put a lot of effort into dinner after a long day. I love the fresh ingredients and inspiring options (esp. herbs) that you offer. And tips on freezing/storing things are really helpful to me!

4. Wish I could be more help here but honestly - I tend to love whatever you are doing so I'd say just keep on doing what you do! Although on second thought - I'm always looking for new ways to make chicken!

5. I believe that we need to consider nutrition and health along with taste when we are cooking and eating SO for me I am not interested in food that it only taste driven. In other words, I'm not interested in reading about a bacon cheese burger being served on a donut as a bun:).

I am Gwen Greer, 62, from Lubbock, Texas. I was diagnosed at age 7 with allergy to wheat and several other times during my lifetime was told to avoid wheat after various allergy testings, but it was always so hard to stay off wheat that I eventually gave up. Last year I was feeling so ill and nothing seemed to make me feel better that I finally got on Google and started googling my symptoms. Repeatedly the answer pointed to gluten intolerance. Rather than taking any more tests, I embarked on a gluten free diet--quite an expedition for sure!! I found a local grocery who carries an abundance of GF foods and also discovered Amazon and other online grocers that carried GF foods. As I rid my diet and my home of gluten, I began to feel better. After about 12 months of this, I began to have the old symptoms return regardless of how hard I maintained my GF diet. Then I discovered the GlutenFreeGoddess blog. She said she had experienced the same thing and tried South Beach to her advantage. I had tried SB some years ago, but found it too restrictive. Of course GF is WAAAAYYY more restrictive, so I have learned to live with restrictions. Anyway, her suggestion was to look at your blog--WALLA! I have been a faithful reader now for several months and love the helpful tips and recipes. I love to try to convert my old faithful West Texas recipes to SB and thus GF. Thanks to you, I have discovered quinoa!!! LOVE IT!! I fix it like fried rice with meat, veggies and a little GF soy sauce and sometimes egg or egg white. I hate eggs for breakfast everyday, so I love any idea that is GF and protein based for breakfast. I love Spanish or TexMex style food, and steak or beef in almost any dish. I Hate spaghetti squash--in fact not much of a squash fan at all except fresh grilled zuchini or yellow. I don't like curry or Indian style dishes. I am not much of a poultry fan, although I make a pretty good GF fried chicken using brown rice flour. My 93-year old mother lives with my husband and I (poor guy) and has recently been diagnosed as a diabetic. Since I am the household cook, she is eating much more SB and hopefully will see the good results although she does not need to lose the weight that I lost (25 lbs. YEAH!!) I just want to say thank you for your energy, your wit, and most of all your creativity. It has truly blessed me and my family. Keep up the great work you are doing and be blessed!!

Sawasdee and congrats from Bangkok, Kalyn! I'm Ping and I came to your blog when I was living in India in 2007 but now living in outside of Bangkok. I heard about SB diet and read your blog but wasn't interested in SB until last year as you can get more varieties in Thailand. Anyway, I like your veggie and fruits page. Also the different ways you prepare meat. With the other bloggers I would like see more low carb desserts as my husband needs his sweets:)Keep writing as I look forward to more posts from you! Have a great road trip!

1) Marcia, Atlanta, GA. I collect cookbooks and consider them Kitchen Literature. I want to know how everything is made because I have some odd allergies.

2) I found you with a mention of SB a few years ago. Get you RSS, and also on FaceBook.

3) I cook with the season, love everything except coffee--but that is NOT a food! Cooking for one is not easy, but I have finally mastered it. I use SB as a type 2 diabetic and have lost 56 lbs, and working on 18lb of the last 20lb.

4) Asparagus, spinach--both raw and cooked, garlic, sweet potatoes, breakfast--anything but eggs. Seldom eat them. Usually left overs from dinner for breakfast. How about some recipes and directions for canning-freezing-preserving--and dehydrating food. I made low sugar-Splenda freezer jam last week and it was my 2nd batch.

5) No recipes with canned soup, no french fried onions on top, not crazy about casseroles because a food I am allergic to might be hidden in it.

Love my iPhone too; just think, and iPad would be super duper for a trip.

Hi Kalyn, My name is Joanne I'm from Toronto, Ontario and I stumbled on your blog while doing a search on the South Beach Diet in January 2010. I started the diet in January of this year and so far I've managed to lose 12 pounds. Your dessert recipes have helped me satiate my craving for sweets (my weakness) without the added carbs. As a pesco-vegetarian, I don't eat meat so I rely heavily on fish, grains and legumes, salads and fruits. And chocolate - of course!I love foods from foreign countries: Indian, Japanese, Thai, etc, so adding some ethnic cuisine to your blog recipes would be welcome. As for foods I'm not keen on - well, the obvious ones are beef, lamb, chicken, pork and anything with gelatin/jell-o.

1) AG here from Buxton, near Manchester in England. I'm 43 (nearly), part time doctor, married with a 2 year old girl.

2) I found your blog only a couple of months ago when I'd just started a SB-type diet and was looking for recipes. I love to cook and therefore frequently need to diet but a diet where you get to plan and cook real food suits me much better than some faddy regime. 4 kgs off so far and another 6 to go.

3) I'm half English/half Italian so I can already "do" European-style food (up to a point). But we love spicy southern food and for the SB diet, that's also sometimes easier than European with its emphasis on bread/potatoes/pasta. Your blog is a great fund of spicy, tasty recipes - the breakfast casseroles are a revelation. It's also really helpful when I've run out of ideas and I'm desperate for something different.

4)My five top picks? Quick breakfasts, snacks, desserts, stuff to do with/for children. Not easy, I know.

5) Five turn-offs? Nothing really. I do occasionally get jealous when you do a recipe that needs 5 different types of chilli. In Buxton, it's just chilli.

I think you "know" me by now - Cara from Cara's Cravings. I don't remember how I found you, but I'd say I've been reading for about 3 years - as long as I've been blogging. Speaking of blogging, I blog about cooking - cooking healthfully, that it is! Always trying to experiment with interesting new recipes to add to my moderately-low-carb lifestyle. I don't know that there is any one dish or food I'd like you to feature regularly - I love variety! Things I never like to see in a food blog? Lots of processed ingredients, unoriginal recipes and crappy photography. Of course I don't have to worry about that here!

Hi, I'm Angie in Orlando, Florida. Congrats on 5 years. As the old saying goes, you are now an expert food blogger (5-10 years or 10,000 hours), we need you to write a book now, hint, hint. I found your site through Foodbuzz I believe, and have been coming since I have been blogging, about a year now.I would describe my cooking as healthy and classical comforting American and Southern cuisine, click on my name to get to my blog, Southern Grace Gourmet.5 dishes that I'd like to see regularly here whatever you would like to share!Please don't feature, who I am to tell you that, feature what you'd like, its you're place! I love to read about all dishes, foods, food events and anything else incorporated with food.

My name is Alice & I'm from the Pacific Northwest. I've been reading your blog off & on for about a year. I found it when I was surfing for good, on-line sources of lower-carb recipes. After failing on South Beach (couldn't get past phase 1), I've started doing the Sugar-Busters low-GI way of eating, and it's working for me! As for my cooking personality, I work FT, and I have a school-age child, so life is busy. I love to cook, but I want it to be quick & easy, at least on weeknights(think R-Ray's 30-minute meals). So that's what I love to read about on food blogs: recipes that are quick, easy, and healthy. I don't like to read about stuff that is too fussy or too many ingredients. Even though I love to cook and I'm not afraid of a cooking challenge, I just don't have the time! :-)

1. Amy Green - I live in a northern suburb of Dallas. I love your blog and would eat at your house every day of the week. :) I love cooking healthier. Though I love my recent adventures in Culinary School, I deeply miss the days of spending a few hours cooking, writing, and taking pics.

2. I can't remember how I found you but I do know that I've been loyal since then. I may not comment but I always read.

3. I author Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, hence my gluten-free, sugar-free spin on food. I love a good challenge so taking any recipe and making it taste great without white sugar or wheat is my thing.

I just found your blog a few weeks ago and really enjoy it. My husband and I are changing our eating habits and your low glycemic recipes are a real help. Thank you so much. I know diet-friendly sweet treats are not easy to find, but I would appreciate any of those that you could feature.

Have fun on your road trip - I do hope you post about the fun when you return. :)

1) Danica Pike and I live in California!

2) I LOVED listening to your panel at BlogHERFood09 last year and have been reading ever since even though I may not always comment :) You are truly inspirational in more ways than you know....

3) I am definitely all about making over not so healthy recipes into healthy versions that are CLEAN and delicious. I am an AVID Weight Watcher so most of the time I enjoy showing people how good you can eat while eating healthy...although, I always manage to find room for treats.

My style...it's sorta random and depends on what sounds good. I am often inspired by what's in season and often have my own cooking show going on in my head as I cook :)

Oh my site...Danica's Daily www.danicasdaily.com

4) I pretty much have drooled over everything you make - how do I pick just 5?! I LOVE your salads, chicken dishes (especially when you guest posted for Danispies - that crispy chicken!), I could probably go on but I will stop because my comment is already so long :)

5. I think you should always post what you love and inspires you....so I can't say I have anything I think you shouldn't make/post about :)

5) What are five foods/dishes you'd never want to eat or read about on a food blog?

Happy Birthday, Kalyn, and congratulations on 5 delicious years! In terms of my food personality, I would say I'm an explorer - I love discovering new things, and always enjoy the fact that there's so much more to learn! Hope you have a great trip!

I Amy from Wakefield, MA. I found you just today since I am attempting to start the SBD today and I love reading blogs. I love to cook and love to try new recipes. I am a total carb addict and really need help on finding good things to eat that aren't carb loaded. I am enjoying vegetarian type recipes recently. I haven't had a chance to really check out your blog totally, but I would love help with breakfasts and making veggies fun and interesting to eat. I would also love to see easy simple recipes that I can make for my whole family. I am trying to decrease my meat intake and feel like I can make different meat dishes so I don't need to see more meat dishes. I am also not a tofu fan so I wouldn't want to see that. Otherwise I look forward to reading your blog and looking for new recipes!

1) What's your name and where do youlive? Anything else you feel like sharing about yourself? Barbie and I live in Tualatin, OR -- currently I am a substitute teacher

2)How did you find Kalyn's Kitchen, and how long have you been reading? I found your blog not long after my husband and I started on the South Beach Diet. I have been reading for 3 years now. My husband needed to be on a low glycemic diet and the South Beach looked like the best choice. After awhile, I needed to expand my recipes and I found your blog.

3)How would you describe your food/cooking personality? What kind ofrecipes interest you most? (And if you're a food blogger, be sure totell us about your blog!) I am not a food blogger but I enjoy cooking. My husband is a plain food kind of guy but he really likes the recipes I have found on your blog. I am trying to adapt some of his old favorites -- he loves pie for example -- he likes Spanish food -- tacos, burritos and he likes pizza. I also cook a lot of salmon -- easily found here. Costco also reports salmon is a leading food product for them as well.

4) What are five foods/dishes you'dlike to see featured regularly on Kalyn's Kitchen?

Fish, especially salmon, cookies, fruit pies using fruits that are in the low numbers on the glycemic index, chicken, and simple lunch ideas. I like your holiday suggestions and look forward to checking out what you have come up with. Brownies -- chewy so they could be used to make home made ice cream sandwiches with no sugar added low fat ice creams. I like to hear about different types of things that can be done with products found at Costco.

5) What arefive foods/dishes you'd never want to eat or read about on a food blog?venison, lutefisk, overly spicey food,

Thanks for sharing your book marks -- I have gotten some great ideas from them. I also enjoy the Friday night pictures. We lived in Rock Springs, WY for several years and became familiar with the Salt Lake area. I remember the French Chateau restaurant fondly.

When I find a recipe I like the print out becomes tattered soon. If you have Microsoft Word on your computer, check out the online templates. They have some nice recipe cards and I retype the recipe using the template. Just remember to rename the file to the name of the recipe and that will save the template for reuse. After I get a stack of cards, I take them to Kinkos or any other copy place and laminate them. Cut the cards apart and then file them in your card file.

Thanks for writing your blog -- I look forward to reading it and have recommended it to several friends. Hope you have a nice trip with your friends.

Hi Kayln. My name is Wendy and I'm from Orange County, CA. I discovered your blog around 3 years ago when I was surfing the web and have since cooked many of your recipes. A few have become family favorites. I greatly enjoy your blog and stop by to read it on a regular basis. I don't have a cooking blog per se, but I do have a gardening blog called "A Salsa Garden" where I muse about my chile garden and chile recipes from time to time.

I like to prepare foods with natural ingredients, with a distinct ethnic flavor or traditional americana in a low carb, low sodium style. If they can be frozen for later, even better. In fact, I prefer my recipes to have freezing/reheating instructions included.

I love crockpot dishes, low carb casseroles and creative vegetable recipes. I'd love to see more recipes that feature various hot chile peppers from time to time.

I don't think that there is anything I don't want to see, except for dishes that use prepackaged or unhealthy ingredients. I cook from scratch most of the time and prefer my recipes to reflect that.

1) What's your name and where do you live? Anything else you feel like sharing about yourself?

Margo, Framingham, MA

2) How did you find Kalyn's Kitchen, and how long have you been reading?

Searched for South Beach Diet recipes, and started reading last year around January :) I have since bookmarked you and come here VERY often!

3) How would you describe your food/cooking personality? What kind of recipes interest you most? (And if you're a food blogger, be sure to tell us about your blog!)

I am an adventurous "try anything" type of person. Gimme a recipe, and I will try it - and usually screw with it a bit HAHAH. I have been toying with the idea for a blog, mostly since I love the idea of Bentos and portion sizing. I would love to have a South Beach friendly Bento blog :)

4) What are five foods/dishes you'd like to see featured regularly on Kalyn's Kitchen?

1) Small bite size things (like mini burgers or bean cakes, or tofu stuff - small things I can pack in lunches!), maybe things like SB friendly snack mixes like SB friendly Chex mix or the like. I love gnoshing and if I dont have something throughout the day I overeat at an actual meal (sucks).

2) Low carb breads/crackers

3) More fish dishes!!!

4) More things I can do with pantry staples. I live alone and dont always have tons of fresh produce laying around. :(

5) I want to learn more about veggies that I am unfamiliar with - like parsnips and artichokes and whatnot. Rare stuff that I just usually have no clue how to use. Celery root too! Whatever I can to help me feel full during phase 1 of SB.

5) What are five foods/dishes you'd never want to eat or read about on a food blog?

1) Personally I hate squash. Zucchini OK, pumpkin, OK - squash makes me throw up (literally, since I was a baby, its weird).

2) I hate lima beans.

3) I don't really like seeing salads unless they are really hearty and robust - oh and lunchbox friendly!

4) And nothing too difficult for me to make :P But then again, I will try anything.

I'm got home from my trip last night and am hopelessly behind on replying to all these lovely comments, but I can tell you I've had so much fun hearing more about the people who are reading. Thanks to everyone who has replied!

Happy blogoversary, Kalyn! I'm Andrea at the blog Opulent Cottage, in Dallas, TX. I found your blog about a year ago when searching for South Beach recipes. We don't always stick to South Beach here at our house, but we love vegetables and lean meats, and I'm always looking for new ways to use herbs and spices. I put three healthy, most organic meals a day on the table for my husband, 15-year-old daughter, and any other teens who are hungry! A few of my recipes are posted on my blog, and have plenty more to share in the future. I also have a few that I hope to finally get submitted to your monthly phase one recipes someday! I really have enjoyed every recipe of that I have tried from your site, and try to comment to each blogger about my results with their recipes. I would love just to see more of everything you're already doing. The only thing I really wouldn't be interested in are recipes with too many processed ingredients, which I don't think I have ever even seen here! Thank you so much for your healthy cooking inspiration. You'll have me as a reader for life!Cheers, Andrea

My name is Liz and I live in Redondo Beach, California. I've been following the SBD since January and as of this morning, I have lost 43 pounds! I found Kalyn's Kitchen through a link over at The Pioneer Woman. I've been reading Kalyn's Kitchen for about 3 months now. I love to cook and try out new recipes so your web site has been a God send for me now that I have changed my eating habits. I love your section that features your favorite products. I am hooked on the products from Pataks! I also love your recipes that lighten up old fattening ones. One of my favorites is Grilled Zucchini "Lasagne"...absolutely delicious and I felt like I was eating lasagne again! I agree with the other comments about more desserts. I also would like to see the nutritional data provided with each recipe. There really isn't anything I don't want to see as I'm very open to trying/eating new things. I always thought I had to use ingredients with lots of fat, sugar and carbs in order for recipes to taste good but now I realize that is so not true. I look forward to continuing on my journey and cooking the whole way! Happy 5th Anniversary!

My name is Jennifer, from Seattle WA. I found your website a few years back when I was looking for SB recipes - and wow, has it changed my life! My husband LOVES it when I make your recipes...when I stray and start cooking unhealthy, he is so happy when I decide to go back and start cooking your recipes again. I feel better and look better when I eat healthy using your recipes - thank you SOOOO much! I tell all my friends about your website :) I love all the different food combinations and flavors...I would never have tried some of them without your guidance. I really appreciate all your hardwork on your blog! Many thanks!

Congrats on 5 years, Kalyn! I'm Katie and I'm currently living in Haslett, MI but will be moving back to Georgia in a couple of months. I found your blog about two years ago while searching for a baked falafel recipe. I loved your recipe and I constantly checked your site to see what else you were cooking.

Soon after I discovered your blog, I began my own (Eat This) where I focus on healthy food (especially low sugar, whole grain recipes, and now gluten-free). I love the challenge of taking a rich unhealthy dish and changing it around so that it's lighter while still delicious. Your posts that I love the most are the simple vegetable ones (like your roasted squash, roasted onions, etc). I also love your soup and stew recipes, and I would love to see more. There aren't many foods that I don't like, but olives make the list (I've tried to like them, but I just can't do it). Otherwise, I love discovering new foods, so I love seeing all kinds of different ingredients in recipes!

(3) I love to COOK ! And of course love to eat as well so your recipe ideas inspire me to try new things and even though we live miles apartin different food cultures we havevery similar tastes.(4)Dessert recipes with dark chocolate and oatmeal cookies too!They are our favorites and since they can be made low carb I amalways looking for new ideas.(5) You do a great job with your selection of foods to write aboutso keep up the good work!

Just want to thank you for your time on this great site .I love the look of it and your photos always make me hungry...If you are ever in the low country of South Carolina and come by for a tall glass of sweet tea (made with Splenda of course).

I have been reading your blogs for a couple of years now, I found your site when I was looking for South Beach Diet recipes.

I love your salad recipes, love experimenting with different ingredients and spices. Would like to see more veggie recipes since we are putting in a big garden this year. Also dessert recipes with less sugar.

Not much I don't like and will try most anything once.

I don't have a blog site yet, keep thinking I would like to start one on cooking since I love to cook so much. Maybe someday, not sure how to even get started.

Happy five years! You were one of the first people to discover my blog, so I've been reading your blog for at least four years. Even more than the treasure trove of recipes here, I am grateful for your generous spirit and support of food blogging and bloggers, and for all you do to build community. I learn something every time I come to Kalyn's Kitchen. Thank you for leading the way.

1. Magen, UT2. Searching for south beach diet recipes. (I'm starting tomorrow!)3. I love reading food blogs, but I don't have one myself. Mainly because I'm just learning to cook. Unfortunately, I've had quite a few disasters.4. I love the recipes that use vegetables in place of pasta. Perfect for south beach. I've really been interested in trying cauliflower pizza. Have you tried that?5. I don't own a lot of kitchen gadgets like a food processor, so I'd rather have recipes when you don't have to have fancy gadgets.

Congratulations on reaching 5 years! That is a rather impressive time!

I am Simone and I live in the Netherlands. I cannot remember how I found you but it must have been through someone elses blog or perhaps foodgawker or such?I am a foodblogger (junglefrog-cooking.com) and I would say I love just about all food and any food.lolAs for 5 foods/dishes; anything you write about is good with me, so not sure what to tell you there.

1) Tara, Boston area2) Boyfriend found it... somehow. He's an internet addict. Reading ~6 months, but only read very, very occasionally. I have lots of recipe sources. But I really like your posts, which are written so nicely. You have a polite and calm tone of writing.4) Grab random recipes from different places. Love ethnic food and new and big flavors. Not a south beach diet adherent at all. Trying to minimize meat.5) Does not compute. First, I would eat almost everything. I tend to avoid exceptionally lengthy/involved recipes, and even then I will make them occasionally when I get the yen. I learn not only from recipes I would jump all over, but also from recipes I would not. I am not eating beef these days. But I still want to read about it. And anyway I often substitute meat/tofu in various recipes.

Hi Kalyn,Winnie from Healthy Green Kitchen in New Paltz, NY here. Somehow I missed your blog birthday post until now! I hope you had a great trip and congrats on 5 years- amazing! Yours was one of the first blogs I found about when I started blogging a year ago. I think I found you when I started submitting to WHB. You know I love your recipes...all of them...I love how you combine different flavors and how you experiment with different ingredients. I think anything goes with food blogs and I personally like to see it all...just no processed food ingredients.

Carolyn from Tasting Spoons . . . congratulations on your 5 years! Wow. You are amazing. Whenever I think of you, though, I visualize you in your new kitchen and back room and know you're having fun. Keep up the good work!

Congratulations on the fifth year bloggiversary. That's quite a milestone in Internet time. :) Here's to another five!

1. I'm Stanley ("Stash" to my friends; only my mom calls me by my birth name) and I live in New York City.

2. I found your blog from Appogiatura. I check in intermittently. One of these days I need to go through your archives, probably on a day when I have nothing else going on. One of the things that I find attractive about your blog (besides the emphasis on healthfulness) is the quality of food photography. I'm a fan.

3. Hm, not sure how to answer the food personality question. I could probably tell you what I'm not, if that helps. I'm NOT a picky eater. Although I'm an omnivore, in the past year or so I've transitioned into a mostly meatless diet. I say "mostly" because I still have one foot in the door when it comes to eating meat. I do like my carbohydrates (I'm afraid my repertoire isn't exactly SB-friendly). Hopefully that gives you a clearer picture of who I am, food-wise.

I'm also a foodblogger. The title of my blog is The Spamwise Chronicles. It has a focus on seasonal/local cooking, vegetables and farmer's markets.

4. I can't think of anything that I'd like to see more of. I'm sorry if that wasn't as helpful as it could have been. It's a gold mine of inspiration, so keep on truckin'.

5. Foods I'd never want to read about -- basically anything that contains artificial flavors, colors or is highly processed. Anything with an ingredient label that takes you longer than a minute to fully digest. That's 180 degrees away from the type of food I'm interested in eating and cooking, if you know what I mean.

Matt here, from Dallas, TX. Bigtime foodie and one of those that thinks recipes are merely rough guidelines.

I've been reading here for a couple of years now - definitely my go-to source for SBD friendly recipes. It's so great to see recipes for SB developed by someone who obviously LOVES to cook.

I'd LOVE to see more freezer friendly recipes. The schedule around here is constantly changing, and it's VERY helpful to have homemade frozen meals ready to pull out and throw in the oven, rather than food spoiling in the refrigerator waiting to be prepared.

I love the creative veggie recipes and am always happy to see those. I also really appreciate the accompaniment suggestions - while I don't always follow them exactly, they're always a great springboard to other thoughts and ideas.

Kalyn - Congrats again on five years, and thank you SO much for all the time/effort you put into the blog!

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

I've recently changed my comment settings so people can comment without signing in, but you will need to check the box to show you're a live person, and comments on older posts won't show up until I publish them. Thanks for understanding!

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